The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1887-05-21
Con 0'keefe and the Golden Cup.

d
(From R. Shelton McKenzie's "Bits of Barney y
In Ireland, as in Scotland. among lh'
lower orders, there is prevalent belle
in the existence and supernatural pow
ers of the gentry commonly called
fairies Many and strange are tht
stories told Of this mysterious and muc1
dreaded race of beings. Loud and FIRE
quent have been the ordinations o:
surprise, and even of anger, at the hare
incredulity which made me refuse
when | was young. to credit all thai
was narrated of the wonderful feats o.
Irish fairies-the most frolicsome Of
the entire genus. The more my disbe
lief was manifested, the more wonder
full were the legends which were
launched at me, to overthrow my un
lucky and matter-of-fact obstjnacy.
l have forgotten many of the tradi
tions which were thus made familiar te
me in my boyhood, but my memory re.
tains sufficient to convince me to what
improbabilities Superstition cIung-and
the more wonderful the story, the more
implicit the belief But in such cases
the fan3ticism was harmless,-it was
of the head rather than Of the heart-ot
the imagination rather than the reason.
1t would be fortunate if all supersti
tions did as little mischief as this.
1t is deeply to be lamented that the
matter of -factedness Of the Americans
is not subdned or modified by any
even the slightest-belief in the Old.
world superstitions Of which I speak.
Of fai1y-lore they cannot. and they do
not possess the slightest item. They
read of it, as if it were legendary, but
nothing more. They feel it not-they
know it-they are. therefore, dreadfully
actual. So much The worse tor them!
Having imbibed & sovereign contempt
for the wild and wonderful traditions
which had b.en duly accredited in the
neighborhood, time out Of mind, Ineyer
WAS particularly chary in expressing
such contempt at every opportunity.
When the mind Of a boy scars above
the ignorance which besets his elders in
an inferior station, who have had
neither the chance nor the desire OF be-
ing enlightened, he is apt to pride him
self. as did, OH the 'march Of intel
lect' which has placed him superior to
their VULCAN cradulity.
Many years have passed since hap
pened to be O. temporary visitor beneath
the hospitable roof Of one Of the better
sort Of farmers, in the county of Cork
during the midsummer holidays. AS
usual, I there INDUCED in sarcasm
against the oreduiity Of the country
One evening, III particular, [ was not a
little tenacious il, laughing at this very
existence OF "the fairy folk;'' and, as
sometimes happens, ridicule accom-
plished more than argument could have
effected. My hosts could bear any
thing in The way Of argument--at least
OF argument such as nine-theI could
even suffer their favoriJe legends and
theories about the fairies to be abused;
but to laugh at them-t}iat was an act
of unkindness which quite passed their
comprehension, and grievously taxed
their patience.
My host was quite in despair, and
almost in anger at my boyish Jokes
upon his fairy legends, when the village
schoolmaster came in, all unlimited but
most welcome guest. A chair was soon
provided for him in the warmest corner
whisky was Immediately on the table,
and the schOolmaster, who was pretty
constant yotary to Bacchus, lost no
time in making himself acquainted with
it's flavor.
had often seen him before. He
combined In his character q mixture of
shrewdness and simplicity; was most
excellent mathematician and q good
classical scholar-but of the world he
knew next To nothing From youth to
age had been spent within the limits OF
the parish over which, cane in hand, he
had presided Tor more than a quarter
Of century, once teacher and al
oracle! He was deeply imbued with a
belief in the superstitions Of the district,
but was more especially familiar with
the wild legends Of that rocky glen
(the detile near kilworth, commonly
called Araglin, crce famous for the ex.
tent Of illicit distilation carried on
there), in which be had passed away his
life, usefully, but humbly employed.
TO this eccentric character my host
triumplantiy appealed for proof re-
specting the existence and vagaries of
the fairies. He wasted no time in ar
gument, but, glancing tripmphantly
around, declared that he would convert
me by particularly we]l-attested story.
Draining bis tumbler, and incontinently
mixing another, Mr.: Patrick McCann
plunged at once into the heart Of his
narration, as follows:
w GU know the high hill that over
looks the town of Fermoy? Handsome
and thriving place as it now is, 1 re.